Hardly Difficult Hardships

By Alex Paul Atup. Alex, 16, is a student at New Era University, General Santos City, Philippines. Please read his article and leave your thoughts and comments below.

“Hah! Are you talking about trials and complications? You are not going to take me down that easily! Bring it on!”

Life is hard and harsh. It is complicated. That is already obvious to many of us people living in this world.

Every one of us experiences troubles, challenges, hardships, and adversities in our life. It is inevitable. Me? You? Them? There is not one person in the world who hasn’t experienced them. How about Newton? Einstein? Darwin? Hitler? Jesus? King Nebuchadnezzar? Moses? I dare you to find a person who hasn’t even experienced even a hint of difficulty in their life. Can you do it? I will even daresay that you, who reads this article, even have problems. Can you deny it? Surely not.

Look at the picture. There, you will see a statue of a bull and a statue of a child who seems to be taking the risk, accepting the challenge of a bullfight. If that seen literally, we can say that the child is foolish, idiotic, naive, or just plain curious, challenging something far more powerful in terms of strength than her. After all, who wants to challenge a bull without anything to defend against it? It can even cause your death before you can hear a pasodoble. At all means, avoid a dangerous threat like it.

There are times in which the meaning of one thing depends on the features that you see. However, things CANNOT always be taken at face value. There are times when you must read between the lines, analyzing the situations in order to make the right conclusions about it. The meaning of an object is not always deciphered from what you can see in its outer form, but rather, on the things hidden within it. If you always try to take things to the letter, you can easily miss the important significances of something’s real meaning, which is not good for it can directly affect many things in your life itself, or in a much smaller scale, in the thing that you are currently doing.

Look at the picture once more, and think about its figurative meaning. Yes. They say that a picture tells a thousand words. The bull could represent hardships and trials, and the child with that proud pose can be taken as accepting it, being ready to tackle it, overcoming it. This can give us many life lessons. This tells us to face up to ourselves. With the incoming challenges and hardships, you can acquire essential and important experiences. Overcome your limits. Do not be satisfied in what you can do currently for surely, you can do better than what you can do now. Have the will to bypass difficulties.

“But man, you know? It feels like I have done so many things in my life, that I just want to crawl into my bed and sleep.”

If you are drowsy in real life, then just rest. But then again, do not take life to the letter.

Keep moving forward. Occasionally, resting is important both in the literal and metaphorical means, for the human body cannot withstand all of these predicaments without regaining the energy for the next one it is possible to undertake. Nevertheless, do not forget that you still need to carry on. Don’t stop. Just pause. But not for too long. You’ll fail if you stop. A mundane life satisfied on its current situation is boring.

However, there are many things that can hinder us from being successful. Inasmuch that we need to overcome these hardships, we also need to overcome the hindrances in overcoming those hardships.

But what if those hindrances are the results of faults of the human himself? Human beings are weak from the start. They cannot live by themselves, let alone be satisfied from being alone. No man is an island. We all know that. We need many things in order to live. We cannot overcome hardships and adversities on our own. That’s why we have people around us, helping one another to survive these difficulties together. You, your family, friends, and others. All the way together.

Once again, because of these, you gain experience. Personal experiences will gradually give you an edge in living after going through all of it. With the things that you have learned, you can easily have the life you are looking for. However, do not let yourself be overwhelmed. Do not count the chickens before the eggs even hatch. Instead, try to reflect upon your life and look back on what you have already done. Use it as inspiration for what is to come. That way, an easy life shall come upon you.

One more thing is will. Willing things to your favor sometimes can help, for it gives you motivation to move forward in times of distress. Be optimistic. Have a positive outlook in your life. Don’t give in just because of just simple reasons. Be reminded that willpower can save you in times of dire need. A strong willpower can always help in the midst of stressful events that can change the course of your life as long as you live.

“But it’s too hard. Maybe I should try giving up.”

Yes. It is hard—I have said it once and I will say it again. Life is hard, considering of all what will happen—hardships, trials, etc., and I have been saying that for a while now.

Giving up is something those with a weak will would do. Worse, if they get discouraged by a simple threat and leave even before the challenge starts. “Should I take this gamble or what?”, “Should I accept this offer or not?”, “Shall I take this way or that way?”, “Which shall I choose?” and other questions like that. And that is something intolerable, especially when the decision becomes a matter that will affect your life in the long run. Therefore, the easiest thing to say for now, yet one of the hardest things to do, is DO NOT GIVE UP IN THE FACE OF THESE HARDSHIPS. Do not get discouraged or rejected by a simple trial. Take J.K. Rowling as an example. Her manuscript of Harry Potter: The Sorcerer’s Stone was rejected many times, or as to what I have read. But what is its status now? It is now a book series known worldwide with a lot of readership.

See? If she can do it, why can’t you?

Trials, hardships, negative situations, and persecutions abound, but they are all normal. Because it is, overcoming them should be also the norm of the society who encounter it. Be reminded that what’s waiting in the end is something good, something amazing for you when you arrive to that point. It may give you opportunities never before experienced by any other man, but you. Those are why hardships exist. To make a better you.

“I see now. Hah! If you are talking about trials and complications, I have found the resolve to overcome them! No longer will I be hindered by those things! I am not going down that easily! Bring it on!”